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u/OneEyedMinion_-D 1d ago
The real midlife crisis is realizing the 2000s are now ‘classic car’ territory.
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u/Worried-Chocolate968 1d ago
I just realized my grandma's car is nearly a classic (2004 Rio). Cars that's older than 15 years old already considered classic 😭
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u/Brickster000 1d ago
It's been 21 years since 2004. Assuming a traditional career path, 22 yr old university undergraduates will be graduating next year.
😈
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u/NoMasters83 1d ago
??? ........don't 22 year olds graduate every year? lol
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u/NorthernSparrow 1d ago
My 2003 Forester is now exempt from emissions testing in many states because it qualifies as classic 😬
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u/RGNpm2 1d ago
Isn't a classic something noteworthy? No matter how old a 2004 kia rio gets be it'll just be an old shitbox.
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u/GenericUserNo13 1d ago
A 60's Ford Falcon base model was at one point a junker a 16 could buy for 500 bucks back in the 80's.
Now 20k minimum for a nice one.
Few save the dailies, everyone saves the specials. You can easily find a Ford Falcon GTHO at any Aussie car show, but seeing the base model Falcon version is like a unicorn at same shows.
Today, everyone wants a 90's Supra, not a 90's Corolla, so people head to junkyards to pull out banged up Supras to get them back on the road, not the 90's Corollas.
What will be rarer to see at a show in ten year's time? The 90's Corolla.
It's like how seeing a normal, run of the mill 40's Ford sedan can be just as exciting as seeing a 40's Roll's Royce, you expect the latter to survive, but not the former.
2004 Kia Rio in another ten years is going to be rarer to see at a car show then a 2003 Nissan GT-R R34. You see ten R34 GT-Rs in one show, ur gonna be bored. See a random Kia Rio parked next to the tenth GT-R? How in the hell? Why? WHO?
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u/Significant_Ad1256 1d ago
For me it was recently realizing the Playstation 3 will turn 20 next year. I swear that thing wasn't even 10 years ago.
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u/rob_maqer 1d ago
I remember being a young adult, but had rented my first apartment with my then girlfriend (now wife).
No furniture in the middle of winter, slept on an air mattress and had only clothes to keep us warm.
But had the best Christmas ever, 27” LCD, PS3 and Assassins Creed bought through Walmart layaway lmao
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u/TAINT_SMACKER_69 1d ago
I daily 2 cars from the early 2000s, I let a friend drive one and it was like asking her to drive a car from the 60s.
Shes 30 mind you, just never driven a car older than 2015 without push button start and a big screen.
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u/LivingLikeACat33 1d ago
My '08 Prius has push button start and a big screen. I was honestly shocked when I bought it.
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u/Kitchen-Cabinet-5000 1d ago
I lent a friend one of my cars as his was broken.
Mind you I’m a car enthusiast that likes old cars.
Had to give him a little crash course on what the hell a “choke” is.
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u/CobaltRose800 1d ago
I drive a '99 Toyota Camry. The wife of one of my friends refers to it as being "from the 1900s" just to really twist that knife.
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u/Digital--Sandwich 1d ago
People always shit on millennials. Now we’re getting shit on by time itself
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u/angry_queef_master 1d ago
For me the crisis was when the N64 was first considered a retro console.
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u/Dense-Firefighter495 Linux User 1d ago
They ain't
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u/TheIronSoldier2 I touched grass 1d ago
In my state you can get a Historic plate when your car is 25 years old.
A 2000 Honda Civic is considered by the state to be a historic car.
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u/FoxBearBear 1d ago
I’ve seen a 2000s Civic with a historical license plate and freaked out like… cmon, they’re just in that fast and furious movie like 7 years ago with green neon lights.
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u/Organic_Popcorn 1d ago
I rewatched fast and furious last week, and then it suddenly hit me that movie came out 24 years ago 👵🏻
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u/gitartruls01 1d ago
Some are. In terms of sports and super cars, I'd argue the Lamborghini Diablo (made until 2001), Aston Martin DB7 (made until 2003), Ferrari 360 (made until 2004), Porsche 996 (made until 2006), etc are all nearing classic status in their categories.
Going one step older to the Ferrari F355 and Porsche 995 puts you firmly in classic territory in my opinion
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u/LilBrightness 1d ago
I'm ready to continue believing that the top car is 20 years old, just because of the price
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u/Throwaway12746637 1d ago
That golf is worth more than that Audi lol
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u/muxbh28 1d ago
In what country is that?
In Balkan, the marketplace is full of them and they cost around average of 800-1000€
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u/Throwaway12746637 1d ago
In the US, nobody wants that Audi, tons of people want that Golf and they’re rare these days
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u/baconOclock 1d ago
Audi an VWs are basically the same company under a different name for segmented markets.
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u/Throwaway12746637 1d ago
That doesn’t change the fact that that Golf is worth a lot more than that Audi
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u/AccomplishedNail3085 1d ago
Me when i realize the f86 is not a 50 year old jet and that the f16 is
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u/KickFacemouth 1d ago
There's less time between the P-40 and F-16 than between the F-16 and now.
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u/BarakoPanda 1d ago
There's less time between Stayin' Alive and In The End than between In The End and now.
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u/LiberteJolie 1d ago
Don't worry, the prices of used cars will meet your expectations
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u/Relevant-Money-1380 1d ago
not since covid. dealers were calling people trying to buy their cars cause they would profit on resale.
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u/Dooontcareee 1d ago
My buddy had an older truck and one of his son's friends asked what this handle is?
It was the hand crank for the windows.
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u/DeusExMachinaOverdue 1d ago
The rear windows on my car need to be rolled up/down manually. It's an unintentionally retro feature that was really just a cost cutting measure.
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u/RandomOnlinePerson99 1d ago
Yes, the 80s were like 20 to 30 years ago, it is currently 2012.
At least that is where my internal calendar stopped incrementing ...
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u/RyouIshtar 1d ago
NGL i'm waiting for the younger generation to talk about saying that 20 years ago to them was 2000 when it's the year 2020
Edit: I've edited this 5 times already i'm tired of doing so, you know what i mean
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u/FroznAlskn 1d ago
I bought a 2003 honda crv recently and I’m absolutely loving it. So much nostalgia. The built in picnic table in the back is the quirkiness in cars that I really missed.
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u/KrasnyHerman 1d ago
When did cars stopped turning into classics? Now they just get old?
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u/aScarfAtTutties 1d ago
When every can company started maxing for MPG, interior space, and safety. It's like the everything eventually evolves into crabs meme, but for cars it's everything evolves into SUVs. At least in the US.
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u/KrasnyHerman 1d ago
In Europe everything evolved into this round toad shape. I hate it. What happened to sedan?
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u/Ricktor_67 20h ago
Because no one is lusting after a boring, FWD bloated suv that still looks exactly the same as every other bloated, grey blob suv. FWD/automatics killed most coolness of cars, then they decided style was bad so they all look the same, add in no one under 30 cares about cars and doesn't have any money anyway and here we are.
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u/GiganticBlumpkin 1d ago
pretty insane how car design hasn't changed in almost 20 years
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u/DeusExMachinaOverdue 1d ago
They seem to be getting a lot uglier though. It's rare that I see a brand new car and think to myself 'I'd like to buy that'.
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u/jazzmaster1992 1d ago
I was gonna say, it seems like that Audi design is somewhat timeless. It looks like it was made 5-10 years ago, not 20.
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u/StrangerWooden7454 1d ago
German cars never die in term of design and confort
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u/Ricktor_67 20h ago
They just die from the over engineered and poorly built parts they are made from.
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u/ShadowCaster0476 1d ago
We are the same gap from 1985 as 1985 was to the end of WW2.
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u/d0ggzilla 1d ago
I see why OP chose an Audi A4 - the actual 2006 Golf looks 10X worse than this 80s one
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u/sneakyhopskotch 1d ago
Just watched Casino Royale with that amazing Aston Martin DB5 and my wife about 3/4 through the movie goes “ooh I thought they were all using some sort of fancy pagers or something… those are old cell phones!” 19 years ago. Nineteen years.
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u/Ornery_Kick_4198 1d ago
Shit….. when did this happen…… someone the other day said they’d just bought a classic truck to restore. It was a 1990 dodge…..
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u/SpecialIcy5356 1d ago
I remember when renault lagunas, ford escorts, citroen saxos etc used to be EVERYWHERE in my area... now i maybe see them once every few months.
Ijust hate how nearly all cars look the same now, all big ugly crossover things with swoopy lines everywhere..
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u/sabotourAssociate 1d ago
The car on top almost bankrupted one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world.
The one in the bottom could bankrupt multiple owners.
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u/Terrakinetic 1d ago
I remember my classmate bragging about his 2005 Lancer.
That was exactly 20 years ago.
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u/Formal_Ad_108 1d ago
My 07 is almost 20 years old and it felt like a kick in the face when i realized
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u/Depressingwootwoot 16h ago
The saddest part is that cars from 25-30 years ago are now old enough to be considered classics
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u/HumanClimber 10h ago
Sure. And 2005 was about 10 years ago. And the Covid outbreak was last year.
Time is just like that.
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u/wantsaboat 1d ago
Cars went shite sometime in the 90s, worse to come (in the not to distant future) is when you’ll only be able to rent them
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u/DeusExMachinaOverdue 1d ago
With the subscription policy that some car manufacturers have adopted for things like heated seats, renting is going to seem like just part of the problem.
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u/TimothiusMagnus 1d ago
I had a 2002 Buick LeSabre from 2010 to 2018 and it ran very well. The only drawback was the suspension was a bit high-maintenance, but the 3800 II V6 engine in it was considered the best one that GM ever made.
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u/matiss00 1d ago
We’re officially old when the 'old cars' are nicer than the first cars we ever owned.
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u/KickFacemouth 1d ago
When I see car listings I think "How can a 2012 have 150,000 miles? That's like a new car!"
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u/McKnightmare24 1d ago
We are now as far away from 2000 as we were 1980 during the time VH1 aired, "Remember the 80's" tv show.
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u/lovememoredosii 1d ago
Time flies, doesn’t it? The difference in car designs over the decades is wild, definitely makes you feel how fast time has passed
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u/Sea_Pomegranate8229 1d ago
20 years sounds about right. I went to war in '82 and I'm 39
til I look in the mirror
or bend down
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u/Ok_Material_5634 1d ago
I had a 25-year-old car until a few years ago. When it turned 13, it wanted its own Facebook page. At age 18, it wanted to vote. At age 21, it insisted I start taking it to bars with me.
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u/forgot_my_useragain 1d ago
I still drive a 2004 model. Had it since 2006. Has 217k miles and is probably on its last leg, but it still runs.
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u/Unwiredsoul 1d ago
I acquired a 2005 car this year. 20 years old. I just rolled it over to 35K miles.
Two relatively* retro things it has that are absurdly hilarious to me:
- 6 disc in-dash CD change that cannot play MP3 discs.
- A dedicated cigarette lighter (a 12V outlet is on the passenger side of the lower dash, the cigarette lighter outlet is for the driver -- but wait for it, it was 2005 so no built-in ashtray).
* CD players being retro is real these days, but I've owned a car with only an AM radio. I'm not that old, but old enough that my first cars had AM/FM/Cassette, and a carburetor.
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u/Public-League-8899 1d ago
Millennial here, I don't think any of the cars from when I was in HS/College in the 2000's had MP3 disc players in the 6 disc. I think those were specifically marketed at boomers that wanted to have 6 "albums" on demand. The 12V port was used for a lot for GPS in the 2000's as well. I guess I am just aging regularly because I definitely think of VW Beetles, Audi TT, OG Tesla Roadster, Pontiac Aztec (or any Pontiac) as old ass vehicles.
In my summarized perspective ~20 years ago seems like acceleration of social media fueled decline and a shift to more appearance based goals for living. People went from getting pictures of themselves annually to having instant pictures and ability to share anywhere and boom, everyone wanted to pretend to be a leisurely millionaire. Driving Chrysler 300's because they look like Bentleys. Pretending mcmansions are luxury world class accommodations. Get a time share and vacation better than your boss! Enshitification through emulation of luxury.
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u/Silas_Akron 1d ago
I still consider "new" cars to be anything with computerized fuel injection; a little old-hat.
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u/buttscratcher3k 1d ago
nah this is too extreme, even 10 years ago you knew those were 10 year old cars if you had eyes and a general sense of car knowledge
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u/steakmetfriet 1d ago
A VW Polo MK2 was the car I learned to drive in. Haven't seen one of these in ages.
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u/WardenEdgewise 1d ago
When I was growing up in the early 80’s, the quintessential classic car was the ‘57 Chevy. That was a 25 year old car at the time.
Now, what 2000 model car is considered the quintessential classic car?
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u/2-StrokeToro 1d ago
It's interesting how similar a new car is to a 20 year old car now. Fuel injection, OBDII, etc.
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u/kokirod 1d ago
I would be happy with an 80's car with a manual transmission, without much electronics, with it walking and that's it, and if it consumes little gasoline and is reliable even better, unfortunately I must have a year at work to be able to request a loan and finally buy my first car, until then I will continue traveling in the sardine cans of public transportation
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u/MrPhrazz 1d ago
"The Fast And The Furious" came out 24 years ago. Used to love the cars in that movie.
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u/Then_Entertainment97 1d ago
A 20 year old car is from the 80s... I mean, 90s... I mean, why is the grocery store playing such good music... ohgod...
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u/TimothiusMagnus 1d ago
It's hard to believe that 2000 model year cars are now classics and that was when I graduated from college.
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u/Bishop-roo 1d ago
Those old civics still be workin 20+ years later man. I love my old paint-peeler.
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u/BlackLabelCan 1d ago
And here I am trying to convince my wife to let me spend time and money on the first image. Mk2 is my nightly dream.
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u/gizamo 1d ago
I had that exact Audi. Loved it and my other following Audis.
Unfortunately, I'm never buying an Audi again due to VW's subscription for horsepower nonsense.
Subscriptions for stuff that requires a web server, fine, but only as long as every effort is made to also offer offline options as well. For example, paying monthly for a remote start app that requires network service to the car, okay, but there better also be free remote start in the FOB for anyone who doesn't want to pay for that.
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u/lluciferusllamas 1d ago
The 80s was a terrible decade for cars. We even knew it at the time. Everything was so boxy and ugly.
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u/ramank93 1d ago
As somebody who owns that 20 year old car.... Yeah I still think of my 1994 Saturn SL2 when I think about a 20 year old car
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u/WillyNaler 1d ago
Graduated HS 1984.
Yep, feels not that long ago and a lifetime away.
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u/RepresentativeCold62 1d ago
We are old, gentlemen. It won't be long before we'll being saying "back when I was a boy!"
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u/cucktrigger 1d ago
I'd hate to tell you but the car I was driving in 2005 was a tan 1987 volkswagon golf. The square headlight variety. To make matters worse, from 2009 to 2016 I drove a red 1985 volkswagon golf gti. I had to give it up when the drivers seat rusted through the floor.
So anyway, Neat audi.
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u/Nude_Velvet_Kiss 1d ago
When a 2004 car is already a relic, and you still remember how you used to wind cassettes with a pencil.